


You Can Handle My Worst

by ZoeTheNormalBeing



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Pet Store, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Annoying Lance, Asshole Pidge, But don't worry he just puts himself down a little, But that's because she's done with their shit, But when isn't he, Chirpy Coran, Cliche, Embarrassed Lance, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy, Fluffy Ending, Happy Ending, Langst, M/M, Pet Store, Pet Store Employee Keith, SHuSH i know it's weird, So nothing new lol, Stupid Keith, Stupid Klance, Stupid Lance, Supporting Hunk, These are all the tags I can type rn i'm so sickjiwsoe, They're so stupid omg, Wal-Mart Manager Coran, but not really, confused keith, guilty keith, oblivious keith, oblivious lance, slight angst, slight langst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 16:37:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18695284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoeTheNormalBeing/pseuds/ZoeTheNormalBeing
Summary: Keith has the same annoying, ocean blue-eyed guy come into the shop every day. Today, however, he gets something he wasn't expecting: A confession.But it's Keith, so of course, he fucked it up.T for language, originally posted on my Tumblr.





	You Can Handle My Worst

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally a post on my Tumblr, @just-another-voltron-account.

Keith sighed, looking drearily at the cash register below him. A bird squawked in a room nearby, and the poor worker ran his half-gloved hand through his bed-headed mullet. He would never admit to it being a mullet, but he had his reasons.

The bell sounded at the front of the store, calling Keith’s attention to it. A boy with soft, chestnut hair walked in, winking an ocean eye at the worker.

Lance, a regular visitor to this shop.

“Hey~, Mullet”, he called out walking up to the counter and leaning half his weight on it, leaving his arm out in front of him. His smirk blinded Keith momentarily before he took in another heavy sigh.

“Hello, Lance”, he said, with disinterest dripping in every part of it.

He clicked a few buttons on the register to just look busy, and then moved over to the clipboard at the side of the counter Lance wasn’t leaning on to check the inventory for the third time in the last half hour.

“What do you want this time?” He asked, trying his best to look as invested in the papers in front of him.

“Hm”, Lance started, and Keith already knew he was in trouble. Lance leaned back and put his hands in his jean pockets.

“Ah, right, I remember now!” Keith sighed. Again. Shiro was never going to hear the end of this from him, if he had any say in it. Why did Lance have to be the cutest and most annoying person he’s ever met?

Wait-cutest? Never crossed his mind, didn’t think it, nope.

..fine. He was cute. But a super annoying asshole that just won’t. shut. up.

“I wanted to ask you out!”

Keith dropped his clipboard and stood staring at the mess of papers on the floor.

He cleared his throat and spoke.

“Yeah… I’m sorry but what?”

Keith looked him dead in the eyes.

Big.

Mistake.

Lance looked so hopeful, and had this soft smile on his face that once it reached his eyes, Keith felt like he was in an hour glass that changes with emotions.

Keith is doomed.

“Well, there’s this new coffee shop down the street, which you might’ve already known about, but I haven’t tried anything there yet and it would be awesome if I could grab a coffee with you?”

Lance rubbed the back of his neck, then looked up to Keith again, praying for an answer.

Keith just stood there, looking at him with wide eyes.

Lance slouched in disappointment.

“I’m sorry, I knew it was a bad idea. I just came in here to annoy you and see if you could handle how annoying I can be, and boy, you have godly patience. That’s… Everything I really need in somebody, to be honest. Just for them to be patient with me, and you’ve done that every tiring day since I first walked in. But… again, I’m sorry. I’ll get out if your hair, now. Bye, Keith.”

With that, Lance turned around, and walked out of the store with his head held high but a depressing aura.

“Fuck. Holy shit. What the fuck. What the actual, fucking fuck, was that? He??? Asked me out??? What the fuck???”

Keith looked back outside and saw Lance slumping at the bus stop across the street, waiting for the next one to come in. That was in 2 minutes.

Keith thought aloud.

“Wait, do I want to go on that date? Oh shit, he’s probably not gonna come back here after that bus leaves oh God oh NO IT CAME EARLY.”

Keith shot through the glass door, nearly breaking the bell with it, and darted across the street, just barely missing oncoming traffic. Quite a few horns honked after him. Once Keith reached the other side of the street, Lance already had one foot on the bus.

“Lance!”

Keith leaned down and panted a bit, catching his breath.

When he looked up, Lance was looking at him with glassy, curious eyes.

“C'mon kid, I don’t got all day here.”

The bus driver snapped Lance back to reality, and with that he stepped on the bus and the doors slammed behind him.

Keith could only watch with heavy disappointment as the blue vehicle sped away and blended into traffic. But not before Keith saw it’s next stop.

It was a mall nearby, maybe about 5 miles, and Keith could easily get there quickly on his motorcycle if he tried. Of course, there was no guarantee Lance would get off there, but it was worth a shot.

∆

“Jeez, buddy, you look like death.”

A kind, comforting voice said.

“I feel like death. You know that cute boy? The one who runs the cash register there from 9-12 then from 1-5?”

“How could I not? You never shut up about him.”

A nerdy asshole kid said.

“Shut up, Pidge, at least Hunk cares about me.”

He turned back to the latter person me mentioned.

“As I was saying, I finally got the guts to ask him out and he BRUTALLY rejected me. Like, didn’t say a single word afterward, just stared at me like I was some insane asylum escapee.”

“I’m sorry, man. There’s always next time?”

“Next time? With who? Nobody has the patience to talk to me, let alone be with me. I mean, of course, except for you guys, but we’re like family and neither of you are my type.”

“And emo boy is?”

“…yes.”

Lance looked over to Pidge to see them looking over his shoulder, studying something really hard.

When Lance followed their gaze, the first thing he noticed was pale skin. Then long, raven hair, and finally amethyst eyes.

“Shit that’s him!”

Lance moved and hid behind Pidge.

“Shut up, you wimp, just go talk to him.”

“Hell no! He probably came here to make fun of me.”

“Nope, that’s it, I’m figuring out why he’s here.”

“Pidge! No!”

“Hey, Hot Topic, what'cha need?”

Keith turned around and gave them a specific ‘really?’ look.

“Are you talking to me?”

“No, there’s some other emo dude in a leather jacket here. Yes, you! You look like you’re looking for something, can we help?”

Keith walked closer to them so they didn’t have to yell across the store, but not close enough that he could see Lance.

“Actually… Um, have you seen a guy with tan skin, ocean blue eyes and chestnut hair?”

“That’s hella specific, you in love with the dude or someth'n?”

“Um, well, no, but he’s cute and you can’t blame me for that. He asked me out about 15 minutes ago but my fucking social skills are absolute shit and I just stared at him instead of answering.”

“Jesus, dude, your social skills are shit.”

“I’m an orphan for a reason.”

“Woah, dude, didn’t mean to offend you or anything.”

“Oh… Stupid social skills, that was supposed to be a joke.”

“Yeah, whatever. Anyways, your Cuban dude, Lance, right? We’re pretty good friends with him and he came in a few minutes ago.”

Pidge looked around themselves to not see any sign of Lance.

“He hasn’t left the store, but I don’t know where he is.”

“Alright, thank you.”

And with that, Keith dashed off.

“Hunk, did you see Lance leave?”

“Nope.”

“Fucking ninja.”

∆

Keith kept is steps as quiet as he could (with boots, it wasn’t very effective), looking around corners and traveling through aisles one by one. Why’d he have to pick Wal-Mart? Why not, I don’t know, a telephone booth? Yeah, wishful thinking since they don’t really exist around here, but anything small would do the trick.

He came across a mini-hallway for the employees and froze. If Lance’s friends work here, he probably has access to employee-locked things. There were public bathrooms, and of course checked them first, (Two were locked, but he could see the shoes underneath the stalls and they were definitely too ugly for Lance’s taste. Yes, he knew Lance’s taste, shut up.) then he was down to only two doors: One was a grey door with a keyhole, which Keith figured was a storage closet, and another one was a normal door with a 'employees only’ plaque on it. Keith automatically assumed Lance didn’t have a key, but he didn’t exactly have access to employees privileges. He’d have to ask the weird person at the front who couldn’t be older than 16.

He dashed towards where they were when he came to be heavily relieved they were still there.

“Hey, found him yet?”

They asked as soon as Keith walked up next to them. They didn’t look up, and Keith is terrified.

“Um, no, but considering he’s friends with you I’m assuming he has permission to go into the break room, or whatever that door near the bathrooms is?”

Pidge looked up, quite impressed by coming to such a conclusion.

“You assumed right. Manager doesn’t even bat an eye at this point, but you have freedom to check. Just say Pidge let ya try to find Lance, he’ll understand. But you might have to say you work at a pet shop.”

“What? Um… Why?”

“Lance, as you’ve seen, isn’t very quiet. And he talks about you. A. Lot.”

“Oh… Well, I’m gonna go check there, cya.”

And he was off.

∆

“Hello there, boy! What'cha doing back here? There is an employee’s only sign on the door you’re about to open.”

Keith turned around, seeing the nametag 'Coran’. Just under that was the word 'Manager’.

“Oh, I’m looking for Lance. Pidge sent me.”

“Hmmm… I don’t know why they didn’t search themselves or have Hunk do it. Anything specific going on?”

“Oh, Pidge said saying that I work at a Pet Shop might help?”

“Oh, that helps plenty! Go ahead in, pal! Good luck.”

“Thanks…”

Coran walked off, and as soon as he turned the corner he turned the knob and opened the door.

Sitting right there, in a chair at the middle table, was Lance.

Keith quietly closed the door behind him, but when he looked back at Lance, he had terror in his eyes and looked ready to bolt at a moments notice.

“Um… Hey…”

“Look, I know that I’m stupid and talkative and far too annoying and I shouldn’t have asked you out in the first place, but please don’t make fun of me. I feel guilty already.”

“Lance…”

Keith sat down, pity and guilt dripping in his voice. Lance looked the other way, the floor suddenly being very interesting.

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, but you don’t want to go on a date, I get it-”

“Lance.”

Lance stopped talking and looked at him.

“Let me finish.”

Lance softly nodded.

“I’m sorry I gave you that impression. That’s not what I had meant at all, just… I’ve never been asked out before, nonetheless by somebody cute, and my lack of social skills was no help. I know what I’m saying can’t justify my actions, but I hope you can forgive me.”

Keith looked up from the table, where his vision had fell while ranting, to seeing an unreadable Lance looking at him.

“You think I’m cute?”

“THAT’S WHAT YOU GOT OUT OF THAT?!”

“uM”

“Alright, this was stupid, if my brother wasn’t my manager then I would be fired, I’m going to call him but I’m sorry I bothered you.”

“Wait!”

Keith stopped midway from standing up and cautiously sat down, very confused.

“I…um… You weren’t… I forgive you. There. That’s a great place to start, right?”

“You know far more than me when it comes to that, but I appreciate it.”

“Alright, sweet, so, do you not want to talk to me again, or…?”

“What? Why would I want that?”

“Well, I was a complete ass to you then sprung a date request out of nowhere. I’d be pissed, man.”

“Well, I’m not.”

Keith smiled, while Lance visibly relaxed, however slightly.

“Um…. Then what did you want to say to me, Keith?”

“Yes.”

Lance was startled into confusion.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, we can meet up for coffee.”

A wide grin fell across their faces, knowing that something big was starting.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I kinda want to make a part two where they go on the date, but that's up to y'all.
> 
> Feel free to check out more posts like this on my Tumblr, @just-another-voltron-account
> 
> (please, i want to know more klancers)


End file.
